FINAL FANTASY : LAND OF THE GODS
by Chicco20
Summary: When the Church decides to uese the power of the gods to take over the world, a small group of blessed outcasts must unite to bring them down. Final Fantasy universe fanfiction all reviews welcome.
1. Prologue

Prologue...

The boy sank to the ground, he was done, the darkness was encroaching, its incorporeal maw widening to claim him. Inch by inch the wet grey stone of the sewer tunnel was being consumed by shadow. His time had come, his task failed, his life wasted, fated to burn out in this dark dank underground.

"He ran this way" a soft voice said  
>"He has to be here somewhere" a second voice bellowed<br>"Scatter, find him!, we will not fail the Church, not today, not ever!" a third voice commanded.

There it was, gripping him like a vice, FEAR, his pulse was racing, his heart hammering at his ribcage as if to demand freedom from his body and this dismal place along with it. He looked to the floor, to the puddle beside him, seeing but his silhouette reflected, a shadow of his true self, it seemed fitting to him, an orphan, thief and now a rebel. He had lived his entire life as a shadow and now would take the form in death. Blood, sweat and the most potent of luck had got him this far, to this place, to this... end. He could hear the resonance of booted feet near by, feel each step through the floor and wall against which he was slumped.

"Where are you?, you little cur!"

It was the bellowing voice, he was close, the boy tensed and the pain returned, a sharp spearing sensation shot up his left arm, he winced, he was hurt, shot while fighting with the others. THE OTHERS! He had forgotten, may Valefor himself swoop down and strike him for his insolence. He was not alone, it was the combined effort of many that brought him this far, not just his own, but their blood, their tears, their... **lives**. They had sacrificed their lives for **him**, for **his** escape, so **he** could fight-on for the cause, for the... THE STONE.  
>That damned stone, that cursed stone that they dared to attempt to acquire, that stone that they dared to succeed in acquiring. He held it, <strong>still<strong>held it, clenched in his hand, pressed to his chest like the last possession of a man about to own nothing. The boy gazed upon it, for all the resentment he had for its very existence, even he couldn't deny it was a thing of beauty. Viewed upon as a beloved item it was a stone of disaster and dreams in equal measure. A marvellous thing, it glittered with all the colours of the seas and yet seemed to be but one omnipotently beautiful colour. A crystallised droplet in form, the size of a clenched fist. Truly marvellous.

The stone is what he struggled for, what they struggled for. They believed in him, fought for his escape and gods willing, still live to fight another day. The boy hoped they were still living, fighting on in all ways possible. The thought of them relaxed him, quelled the desperation in his heart.  
>"They still fight and so must I"<br>His resolve returned, he stood, forcefully willing his battered body into action.

"He's here!, I've found him!"  
>It was the man with the bellowing voice. His voice suited his physical form, he was built like the Behemoth, the brutish beast of legend, from tales the man who used to visit the orphanage would tell. Tall well muscled, with hooded blue eyes and fruit orange hair that was cut to form points reaching back from his hair line and joining halfway over his cranium. The boy fled. At first he staggered, near fainting, his brain over whelmed by the sudden pain emanating from what felt like every cell of his body. Overcoming his fatigue by sheer force of will the boy ran on, out into the next chamber.<p>

The room was a large domed conjoining area where several tunnels & tributaries of the sewer system met, a large circular platform occupied the centre of the room, built with a rotation mechanism to redirect the bulky cleaning mechs while preforming their duties. As he reached the centre of the platform that feeling returned. He fell to one knee, as the entire of the crusader squad that was pursuing him stepped from the shadows. There were twenty of them in all, each wore an elbow length navy poncho made of Minor-Antlion silk covering segmented metallic armor, they had on knee-high black boots that their trousers were tucked tightly into, these were also navy but made of a though battle standard fabric, two oblong section of plated armor hung from each man's belt, dangling loosely over the thighs. All wore a metallic helmet that was cast to mimic waves flowing away from the face, other than one middle-aged man each had silver masks of Shiva that were slotted into the front sections of their helmets, usually the face of Shiva brought happiness to the boy, but inspired dread on this occasion, he was surrounded.  
>"Hold steady men" said the mask-less Man the boy assumed to be their commander. "well done trooper Be'gammon, where is you helmet?"<br>"Thank you sir, sorry sir, i removed it as it was... confining my senses sir" Apologised Be'gammon, joining the formation to the Commander's right.  
>"Foolish child, hand over the stone" said a man to the commander's immediate left after removing his own helmet. This was the man who's voice he had heard first. He was a thin man with a cruel feline sneer, violet condescending eyes and short purple hair tied back in a maretail.<br>"Careful trooper Va'mann" the Commander's voice echoed across the chamber, but his eyes ever remained on the boy. "He holds the Shiva Tear, he is not to be underestimated"  
>"But Captain he's just a boy, and a raggedy injured one at that" Va'mann sneered.<br>"Fool!, the Shiva stone is one of the relic weapons of the gods, it is said to hold the essence of the goddess Shiva herself, may the waters be blessed" the Captain said with reverence.  
>"And so too the snow" each person in the chamber finished the blessing as one, including the boy.<br>"Silence dog!, you taint our blessings with your traitorous tongue!" shouted Be'gammon, with so much hatred laid into the word "traitorous" that the boy thought he could near physically feel the man's rage.  
>"Gather your self trooper Be'gammon" ordered the Captain<br>"Our belief in the gods is true and our motives just" said the boy " it is your so called Clerics, that conspire to taint the holy forms!"  
>"How dare you!, may Anima torture you for eternity, for your blasphemy!"<br>Overcome with rage Be-gammon charged at the boy, murderous intent so powerful it seemed to emanate from the man like heat from a flame. Iron mallet held aloft, Be-gammon rose above the boy, about to smite the unholy thing before him.  
><em><strong>To get so worked up by a mere child, why do the crusaders allow such cretin into their ranks? when I have command things will be different<strong>_. Thought Va'mann to himself.

++WATER++

It was as if the sewers themselves moved against him, the water surrounding the boy's feet came alive and pounded him. The shock of the waters animation would in its self been enough to arrest Be-gammon's charge, but the liquid gave him no such mercy as time to stop. The force of the blow was immense, it was like what he imagined being on the receiving end of his hammer would feel like, but two fold. Be-gammon was propelled across the room with nothing but the walls of the chamber to arrest his momentum, he connected heavily with the mossy grey stone, the snapping of bones and clanking of warped armor resounding loudly through-out the chamber. The others watched the spectacle in amazement, the Captain being the only one seemingly about his wits. Be'gammon landed heavily at the foot of the wall bruised and broken, his plated armor ruined, useless against the immense force that left his hammer embedded in the wall above him.

"The fool should have listened" said the Captain "be on your guard, learn from the mistake of the fool or join him in his fate!"  
>"But sir how can this be possible!" Va'mann inquired "I have witnessed a tier 1 spell used with such devastating effect only once, and that was preformed by a Bishop! How can this child command such power!"<br>"It is said the Shiva Tear commands and enhances the magics of water & ice, and to a point far above that of the average." the Commander explained "Even in the hands of a child its not a toy, though i believed the stories myth, rarely have people been reported to bring out its power with such success" the commander re-analysed the situation "Men!, anyone with mana stones prepare them thunder is most prevalent and fire will counteract the ice who other than me has a fire stone?"  
>"Me sir!" said Va'mann<br>"Then don't falter trooper!, the Tear is the source of his magic but the energy comes from him, in his condition he shouldn't last long those of you without mana stones be careful!"  
>Va'mann glanced over to Be'gammon's whimpering from. Now I see what use mindless beasts like him are, they're nothing but pawns to be sacrificed in exchange for intel on the enemy. Ha! looks like you were useful after all Be'gammon.<br>"He he he" the boy chuckled "Thanks old man"  
>The commander was wrong footed by the boys sudden vitality, he has been kneeling in pain since they entered the room and should be worse off after some of his mana was drained by the stone, but he seemed revitalised, even now he was raising to his feet.<br>"I knew the stone controlled water, but never made the connection to ice. Though I guess the old blessing was pointing towards the abilities of the stone" A confident grin formed across the boys face "I guess ill survive this after all!" _**I am truly blessed by the gods**_. The boy thought.

++WATER++  
>++WATER++<br>++WATER++

The room came alive with liquid, once again at the boys  
>call, but this time attacked in all directions at once. The water engulfed the soldiers with the yellow stones first, the boy was picking his targets well. The Captain hadn't anticipated this, the boy didn't attack in the same manner as before, the liquid weapon engulfed the troops rather than crushing them as it did with Be'gammon, it remained upon their forms, mimicking the men's movements and preventing their escape. The Captain couldn't believe his amateur level analysis of the situation, or his own huge underestimation of the Boy's capabilities, he took into account so much but failed to account for two crucial factors. Firstly, Water magic is primarily the control of water and secondarily the conjuring of water, without the need to 'create' the water, the mana debt on the user is much lower and the attacks strength increased. Secondly, they were in the sewers, water was abundant and with the stone the boy was king down here. Before the Captain could regain his footing the boy was finished with his assault, each of the troopers surrounding him was struggling in vein to break free from a liquid prison, all other then Va'mann who stood besides him in frozen horror.<br>"Va'mann! Cast now!"

++FIRA++

"Wha...Yes sir!" Va'mann croaked.

++FIRE++

In an instant, flames blazed forth from the two men and met the assaulting force of the water creating an explosion of steam. Though the Commander's Teir 2 spell 'Fira' was able to match the boys boosted Teir 1 spell 'Water', Va'mann's 'Fire' spell, also a Teir 1, faltered against the oncoming torrent. The Captain clenched his teeth as he saw the last under his command immersed in water. It was too much, with the boys attention focused now solely on him, the pressure had increased. He was giving ground, the water inching closer and closer. In a last ditch effort the Captain unleashed his magical reserves.

++FIREGA++

Its was a risk, he was unpractised in the spells use, still the inferno blazed forth ferociously, every edge of the chamber seemed buffeted with magical flames. But the spell had failed to reach its climax as the Captain mana stone shattered in his hands. The standard artificial magic enhancer was not built to synthesise magic at the Teir 3 level, even Teir 2 taxed the device. The room was filled with steam, the tributaries between the Captain and the boy, just beginning to refill after their contents had suddenly vacated in an exodus of evaporation. The boy still stood, wobbly but his resolve still burned strongly, he seemed unscathed. The commander was amazed at the levels of defiance and stamina this child displayed, but he was not yet ready to lose, revealing a second mana stone. _**Though it is weaker than the last, it will serve its purpose**_. He thought as the water consumed him.

++BLIZARA++

The temperature of the chamber suddenly dropped, frost encased the moist, grey stone walls and even the vapor mist about the room succumbed to power the boy conjured. Each Crusader to a man,encased in their water armour froze, becoming crystalline statues of ice each bearing a look of fear and imminent death. The boy fell to all fours panting hard, the last spell took more out of his already depleted life-force than the others. He took a while to regain his bearings, though the immediate danger was terminated, he knew the search for him and his allies was still ongoing. The boy smiled as he stood, clenching his bloody wound, taking a second to appreciate the beauty of the scene before him. Snow falling on living statues of ice, in a frozen sewer, such an odd scene he thought to himself. He took the time to say a prayer to the soldiers he had hurt, and to thank the gods for his life, before walking past the glittering forms he had fashioned, over to the still astonished form of Be'gammon at the edge of the room.  
>Fear gripped the frost coated man, it was a sensation he had never truly felt so acutely before.<br>"Go back you that house of daemons you call your Church" said the boy. He failed in his attempts to hide the hatred and anger he felt, from being conveyed in his words "And tell them! Tell them of what you have seen today, let them know, that I'm here to bring an end to their tyranny, that I will make them pay for their sins!" The boy shook with anger.  
>Be'gammon's fear melted away, at that moment he felt nothing but respect for the young boy's courage and strength.<br>"Boy" he rasped through bloody and broken teeth"I admire... your courage, but the rebels ha... lost. No one has ever come close to toppling the... mighty church. You have defeated me... so... I'll give you some advice, fade into obscurity, hide well, live...well"  
>"I will make them pay!" the boy exclaimed through gritted teeth."Even if I have to enslave the gods themselves for the power to do so!".<br>With his words still echoing in the air the boy took his leave and disappeared into the darkness. These marked the first steps, the first steps of what would be a long and turbulent journey.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

9 years later...

They had been running through this forest for what felt like an eternity, the Sister could feel the acute pain of acid-burn in her legs, its throb increasing with each stride as she accelerated herself onwards through the thick green foliage. Running was difficult in the long pearl white open fronted cowl she was wearing, especially in such a thickly packed forest, though she had been trained for such testing situations. The Girl fell and the Sister skidded to a halt, running back for her and dragging her up and onwards even as she began to rise herself. The Girl was young, just turned the age of twelve with a striking appearance that the Sister still couldn't yet comprehend. Though dressed in a similar fashion to the Sister, her face seemed partitioned into two halves, the right was of long bone-blonde hair that came down to her hips, with a bright blue eye and a seemingly endless smile, the absence of which is to be expected in such a situation. The left on the other hand had hair of a midnight blue that hung down to her neck and curled out at the bottom, the eye, though now closed, possessed a blood red hue only half as foreboding as the permanent scowl that dwelt beneath it. The Sister had been told why the Girl looked the way she did but didn't quite understand it. She had learned that the Girl was not one person, but two souls inhabiting one body, though at present it seemed that one of them was somehow unconscious, this caused the left side of the Girls face to totally relax and the eye to close. The Sister had seen the expression frequently on the face of the partially paralyzed old man who prayed at her church, it was odd seeing it replicated on the face of such a young child. She glanced over at the Girl, at first noticing the fear on her face, but then seeing the fierce burning determination in that sky blue eye, the Sister decided she was impressed by the Girls resilience.

"It'll be ok Clara" Said the Sister "I wont let anything happen to you" she continued with a reassuring smile.

The Sister's words helped, but Clara could hear the barks of the dogs getting closer, risking a glance back down the improvised path they had traveled through the thick, light bespeckled underbrush, she tripped on a large surfacing root and tumbled.

"Clara!" the Sister exclaimed rushing back to help her up once again. She had twisted her ankle, the Sister noticed immediately, helping the girl up onto her back and running on. Another bark, it's echo long lasting as if it was trapped in the thick humidity of the forest, this one was closer than expected. Clara tensed closing her eyes and gripping the sister more tightly than before, as if the harder she squeezed the further away their pursuers would become. Realising the girls distress the Sister asked her where they were, knowing that the conversation would calm her mind.

"W-we are in the Flan Forest" Clara said hesitantly.

"Correct!" The Sister exclaimed, effortlessly vaulting over a large stone that was blocking her path "And why is it called that?" she continued.

"Because of the high numbers of Resin-Flan that are found here". Clara mumbled.

The Sister felt the girls grip loosen slightly, though her eyes remained closed, and her head remained buried in the woman's shoulder. It was working thought the Sister, ducking extra low under a thick mossy branch to make sure that girls or her hoods didn't catch. Noticing a steady increase in visibility and decrease in humidity, the Sister realised that their must be a clearing near by. Swiftly the woman changed directions to her diagonal right, towards the faint sound of rushing water, hoping that this path would help cause the dogs to loose the pair's scents. "So what is a Resin-Flan Clara?" She had to keep the girl calm.

"It is a Gel-at-neous monster formed when large buildups of the tree's resin mix with Neutral-Residue." she went on "Though generally passive, they can be very dangerous if provoked." Said Clara Calmly.

The Sister chuckled to her self over the girls good attempt but mispronunciation of the word gelatinous, and was surprised at the clarity of her memory, she had quoted the bestiary textbook's description of the creature word for word. The Sister was also surprised by the realisation that girl and her both were enjoying the conversation. "So Clara explain to me what Residue i-".

"STOP!" The girl exclaimed.

The sister skidded to a halt, surfacing from her moment of contemplation and conversation, to the realisation that she had reached the water she was looking for, suddenly naked to the sun's rays the woman squinted as she took in her surroundings. The river was roughly five meters across and the Sister guesstimated nearly as deep, is seemed to separate the forest bisecting it for as far as the Sister could see, unfortunately, said river was at the bottom of a cliff-like sheer rise that the two just happened to end up on top of. _**How did the girl see it before her? did she know it was coming?**_ The Sister thought to herself as she peered over the perilous drop. The dogs sounded again, their pursuers were closing quickly, letting the girl down a few feet away from the edge of the dusty orange ridge and cursing her luck, the Sister realised she would have to make a brash decision. "Clara listen to me carefully." Said the Sister holding the girls panicking face to hers to maintain her attention."I need you to run okay, go-on to the meeting place we talked about and I'll find you there." Smiling, the Sister took a step back from the girl gathering her magical energy.

++BUBBLE++

With that an odd layer of what seemed like viscous liquid enveloped the girl. "Wha-what are you doing?" the girl said, unsure of what exactly was happening.

"It'll protect you." The Sister said glancing behind before closing her eyes to focus her Mana once again.

++FLO-

++SILENCE++

The Sister voice was gone and her casting abilities along with it. Her plan was to give the girl some basic protection with the Bubble, then levitate her to the bottom with Float to avoid her landing in her rushing water. Deciding that one out of two will have to do, and reacting quickly to the immediate danger, the Sister kicked the Bubbled Clara over the edge of the cliff, spinning in one fluid motion onto her knees facing the oncoming enemy. Uttering a quick prayer to the gods for Clara's safety, the Sister rose revealing twined Kaiser Claws from under her cowl, large gauntlets blessed with the Holy power, she clenched her fists tightly determined to prove a bigger challenge to her foe than they would ever have anticipated.

Adopting a defencive stance the Sister assessed this opposing force through her experienced silvery grey eyes. There were five of them two male and three female, seven including the two partially-mechanised Rott attack-dogs they had along with them. All were dressed in the same form fitting protective body armor she herself wore underneath her cowl. Though her leathery armor was the gold embodied red of the Ashuran Nunnery, theirs were half that and half a Silver embodied navy, these mixed colors were that of the Ashuran Church. They also wore color matching metallic helmets, half cast with the blissful visage of the Goddess Ashura and the other of her eternal foe the Snarling Anima."Dammit!" exclaimed one man "She fell off the cliff!". The sister knew this man, recognising him at once by the Katana he wielded, the Kiku-ichimonji. She had worked under him once on a hunt back when she was a novice. His name was Drannius, Captain Meric Drannius if she remembered correctly.

"Fool, the child didn't fall, she kicked her off. She knows she couldn't handle us with such a distraction. Smart girl" A Woman sneered, she wore the markings of a Commander and carried a Scorpion-tail, a red, hook bladed whip.

"Yep! I saw it, I saw it!. She kicked the brat right off!" This was a second Female, a diminutive figure, she stood at the back of the enemy formation in a cowl identical to the Sisters own. She was clutching a Pinwheel, a four bladed throwing star. The Sister could tell instantly that she was the Mage, that she 'Silenced' the Sister.

"Smart? If she was smart she would have thrown herself off too! She has no hope of defeating us." This condescending statement came from the third Woman. She seemed slighter than the first, though it was difficult to tell in her odd crouched stance, she seemed very feline and was carrying Cat Claws standard weaponry not too dissimilar from the Sisters Kaisers.

"She does not intend to defeat us. Just delay our progress." Said the second Man in a slow groaning voice. He was a large man, a very large man, muscles bulging in his form fitting armor. The attack-dogs were magically tethered to his arms by transparent chains glowing and fading with a bright blue evanescence. He also carried a large double headed poleaxe on his back, though he hardly looked as if he intended or ever needed to use it.

"You're right, we have no time to waste!" Said the commander matter of factually. pointing a long accusing finger at the Sister, she continued on. "We, Malleus Maleficarum, condemn you to death. Release the dogs!"

"Yes Ma'am!" With that, the brute raised and lowered his arms in a motion that looked like a carriage driver hurrying-on his steeds. The magical chains snapped and the dogs came bundling on ahead, sharp snapping metallic teeth coated with overflowing saliva laid bare.

The Sisters advanced training and experience came to the fore and muscle memory seemed to take control of her body. As the first dog approached the Sister stepped in delivering a powerful right kick to the side of the beasts head, cracking bone and deforming metal, the blow put it out of commission. Spinning forward through the air the Sister crushed the second dog from above with a descending punch from her Kaiser Claw, demolishing the creatures body in a crescendo of cracking bone and sparks, pulping bone, metal and organs alike. Standing proudly over the beast in its broken form, like a conqueror of nations, the Sister looked ahead expectantly awaiting the next attack.

"Get her!" Screamed the Commander. Drannius and the Feline Woman moved instantly, rushing at the sister side by side. At the last second they separated, dashing out in opposite unity to flank her, the Sister recognised with familiarity the execution of this classic 'two-pronged attack' ploy in an instant, causing her to near fail to spot the Pinwheel spinning rapidly towards her head. Ducking quickly she managed to avoid the death-dealing blade, though her hood wasn't so lucky and was shorn in two, revealing her pretty heart shaped face, and tucked in, dust brown hair. Dashing backwards from her crouched stance, she noticed the flying star curving and returning to the hands of its diminutive thrower. Immediately planting her feet and raising her defences, the Sister blocked a simultaneous left Claw from her right side, and a vertical slash from her left, grunting under the weight of the impacts. She realised she was in trouble, these people had better teamwork than she anticipated. While having to exert all her strength to keep the deadly weapons at bay, she got her first break. She felt the pressure on her left side lessen slightly and took her chance, forcing the blade harmlessly aside and she delivered a powerful kick to the man's gut, sending him sprawling backwards. She turned her full attention to the woman just in time to match a right handed punch with a left of her own, the Woman's gauntlet shattered under the power of the Sister's more advanced weaponry cracking forearm an knuckles, and she thrust the woman back. Not letting her advantage slip away, the Sister thrust her right foot forward stomping and shattering the unsteady Feline Woman's left knee. Screaming in pain she fell to her good knee clutching the wound, but the Sister was not yet finished, slashing the Woman's face and cleaving deep chasms into skin and bone, the Feline Woman fell to the floor in bloody silence.

"Drannius! what are you doing!" Yelled the Commander clearly enraged.

"I'm sorry ma'am!. I recognised the girl and my blade faltered in my surprise" he apologised, swiftly bowing for forgiveness.

"Dammit get her! Bra'n you too!"

With this the Giant entered the fray, as he moved to leap off the high rocky outcrop he was standing on far to her right, the Sister darted left to try and remove Drannius before the situation got drastic again. The Pinwheel came again buzzing through the air, though this time the Sister was expecting it, not stopping in her stride she bashed the nuisance aside shattering it with much pleasure, much to the aggravation, surprise and dismay of the small Mage. The Sister and Drannius clashed again, dodging another vertical strike the Sister swept a foot at the man's legs, he jumped slashing horizontally at the Sister's face. Darting backwards the Sister quickly regained her footing thrusting a fist at the man's chest.

Blocking the blow diagonally by placing his hand on the back, flat edge, of his sword, Drannius found himself in a stalemate once again. "You wont have it so easy this time...Marieum" Drannius smirked.

"So you remember me" Marieum replied,

"Now how could i forget such a beautiful, and beautifully marked face? Marieum Brin'kannum" He stated mater of factually. The marks which he referred to, were the red tattoos of the seven faces of the moon that outlined each side of her face and forehead, each face possessed a runic character in its center, that represented one of the seven spells of Ashura. "Even as a novice your skill was visible, you know i kept track of your progress after our thrilling adventure." He continued "Though I'd lost track of you around three years back. It's amazing that you've come this far in that time, and from within the ranks of the Nunnery no less" They broke off and exchanged two, three equally well blocked blows before coming to a stand still again. "Such skill at such a young age. Too bad we have to kill you." Drannius thrust forwards forcing the girl back.

She was being over powered, Marieum stopped resisting jumping backwards and half rolling, half leaping to the left immediately as she landed. The blow she expected missed her by inches, though it demolished the bolder that she had previously been on top of. Quickly moving back a few steps Marieum regained her composure, though reassured by the fact that the Giant was obviously as slow as he looked, she was not comfortable having to fight these two men simultaneously.

Shes Quicker than i had hoped. Bramin thought to himself."Clessie" He grumbled and nodded to the small Mage girl, she nodded back an overly excited acknowledgement.

++Berserk++

The warmth of the spell washed over him, magically coating him in an ominous red glow, and the powers of rage took over. Bramin moved, and fast. In her surprise the girl barley dodged the blow, the sharp Axe cleaving effortlessly through her garments and armor inflicting a shallow wound in her side. She let out a soft yelp in pain as she rolled and recovered her footing, running towards Drannius without hesitation. Bramin's red bloodshot eyes followed her movements and he gave chase, quickly gaining on the girl, he swung his giant weapon once again. The girl slid and curled up in a ball at Drannius' feet, dodging yet another swing, though Drannius wasn't so swift, barley raising his sword in time to defend against the deadly blow. Bramin's Axe connected, though not his intended target the effect was just as satisfying for the Berserker, in his rage he cared little for his misplaced aim, following through with the swing, and propelling Drannius six meters through the air into a thick mossy tree and unconsciousness. "Move" said Bramin with no hint of empathy as he watched the man fly through the air, he lingered on the silent form of the man for a few seconds, as an artist would admire a newly completed work, or maybe he was subconsciously contemplating or regretting his mistake, it mattered little as the Berserker rage reinserted it's control, compelling him to re-acquire his target.

Her ploy was successful, the Giant had incapacitated Drannius. Rolling away as soon as the Axe had passed over, Marieum moved as fast as she could across the spacious mossy clearing in which they battled, putting as much distance between her and the momentarily distracted Berserker. Taking this opportunity to asses the situation Marieum took note of three new revelations. Firstly, the Berserker no longer recognises friend or foe, in his magically induced rage begotten mind, a target is a target, she made a mental note to thank the Gods of war that that little gamble paid off. Secondly, she made a noise when the Axe cut her, confirming that the effects of the Mage Woman's Silence spell had warn off. Thirdly, that her time is limited, that man carries a Venom Axe, it's damaging effects made perfectly clear, by the bruised shallow gash in her side that refused to clot, if she doesn't get away soon the effects will worsen and become irreversible, she will die. With focused determination Marieum ran on. Dislodging one of the prongs of the Mage Woman's Pinwheel that had embedded its self in her gauntlet, she quietly cast.

++Vanish++

The shard became invisible, she knew this was her last chance effort, her last gambit, Once the shard left her hand it would become visible again, so she would have to get close in order to use it effectively. Marieum Sprinted at the Commander with the giant form of the Berserker close on her tail, she dummied left, the Commander recognising the faint too late aggressively lashing at empty air. Now was the moment, Marieum tossed the shard with a sharp flick of her wrist, propelling it with practised precision.

The Commander saw the flick of the Girls wrist and brought up a hand thick with armor plating to defend against the concealed projectile. Following the Girls movements carefully, she realised too late once again her enemy's intended actions. Turning with a curse she watched as the dark metallic triangle passed over her shoulder and stuck fast in Clessie's chest, the small girl was dumbstruck, slowly realising in rage, pain and confusion that she had been impaled by her own weapon. Clessie stumbled backwards and fell down with a dull moss quietened thump and a single blood muffled cough. The commander had had enough, lashing out with her whip and trapping the girl's left arm. "Bra'n cleave her in two!".

Marieum was jolted back as her left arm was caught in the Woman's snare, seeing the Berserker coming she dropped flat on her back out of desperation, letting out a quiet whine as she hit the floor. The Swing missed her by a hair's breadth but caught the flexible metal of the whip sending the two women flying through the air. The force of the swing had propelled them a fair distance, groggy and dazed from the heavy landing Marieum got up, crying out loudly at the sharp pain that came along with realisation that her left arm was broken. Looking for signs of the Berserker while carefully unwrapping the red metallic cord from her lolling limb, she gathered that she had been thrown on top of some four meter high ledge. She turned quickly at a barking gasp, as the woman Commander's lungs struggled in desperation to grasp oxygen, swaying as the effects of the venom began to take a firm hold, Marieum realised this was her only chance of escape. Spitting at the struggling Woman as she passed by, Marieum Brin'kannum escaped into the depths of the Flan Forest, whispering a prayer to the gods in thanks of her survival, and hoping that Clara had had better luck than herself.


	3. Chapter 2

Finally, he had spotted his prey through the densely packed brown-green ferns that concealed him. these same densely packed plants made up most of the below-canopy plant-life of the lower Flan forest's floor. Finding it's own prey in the form of a resin coated summer-conifer, Resin-Flan squelched past his stealthy form, blissfully unawares of its imminent demise. The fact that he remained undetected came as no surprise to the well muscled shadowy Man, the thick wooly hood-sash that he wore wrapped around the majority of his face, head and upper arms, was of the same brown-green hue as the foliage that surrounded him. That combined with the thick sweet scent of the forest that had attached its self to him over the past week, was more than enough to fool the creature's poor sensory organs, though in all honesty he couldn't really tell if it had any. The mindless golden-amber blob, slowly began to wrap its self around the trunk of the ancient towering giant, absorbing the sweet, viscous liquid the tree exuded from its dark furry bark, directly into its own gooey body, adding the yellowy nectar to its already formidable size. Cautiously eyeing his distracted target, the man reached down with his right hand, and slowly drew his orange-bladed knife the _Salamand_, from it's sheath strapped to side of his thick dark-leather boot. He could feel the increasing warmth of the the blade as it drew strength from his magical energy, it pulsated with a growing heat in his hand, indicating the fiery magical power it was imbued with. Gripping the now burning weapon tightly in a bandaged wrapped right hand, the Man pounced from concealment, grunting as he plunged the blade deep into what he assumed to be the bloated monstrosity's head. His hand stuck fast, the surprise assault seem to have so little effect that it was almost comical. The Man felt a swirling sensation against the skin of his trapped hand, that brought to mind the push and pull of the tide on the shore. Looking down, he saw his would be victims midsection began to warp and contort, until splitting horizontally in its center, creating some makeshift maw that though toothless, was foreboding all the same. "Oh no, please don't eat me " the man said, comically waving his left arm about, as if performing in some inner city pantomime. Quickly regaining his composure with a grin, the man gripped his trapped arm by the elbow forcefully, and with a grunt, channeled his Mana through his trapped limb into the the hilt of his weapon. The blade blazed intensely, Its flame spilling forth and quickly cooking the sugary beast from within. As its body began to harden, the man wrenched his arm back tearing the beast in half. "Wooo! And that makes eight." the man cheered. Stepping back from the slowly widening puddle of ooze that was previously the flan's lower half, he then chuckled quietly at the sight of his hand still encased in a large portion of its upper body. "And they say these things are dangerous" the he muttered to himself, as he shattered the dark dense block encasing his arm against a near by tree. Stooping to sheath the Salamand with a hiss, as mana nullers rapidly cooled the blade, he picked up one of the broken Flan shards flicking it into his mouth. "Umm, not bad" he said to himself as he crunched down on the popular candy. Surveying his handywork the man sighed, before pulling an empty jar and a metal scoop from his bag "And now the hard part" he muttered, and with a long drawn out breath, went about his work.

Placing the last jar of Flan-resin in his 17-slot bag along with a few of the larger, solid Flan-amber blocks, the Man stiffened, suddenly alert._** That was a Mana buildup, and its close! **_The man thought to himself "West!" he exclaimed, quickly swinging the strap of his honey yellow 17-slot bag over his shoulder and darting into a fast sprint towards the direction in question. Breathing heavily the man broke out into a sun filled clearing, just in time to see a small girl falling from the high cliff into the rapids below. With no hint of hesitation the man dived after the child, swimming with the current determined to save her life.

After being swept a good mile down stream, the man managed gain some footing when the large river forked off into several shallower distributaries. His clothes dripping and drenched, the man carried the young girl out of the cold wet waters, and lay her down gently on the lush green summer grass of the riverbank. To the Man's surprise the girl was completely unscathed, though surprise turned to suspicion as he noticed the thin Bubble layer encasing her. _**Did she cast this herself? **_He thought to himself, gingerly poking at the veil as it began to dissipate of its own accord. Removing his water heavy hood-sash from on top of his navy blue sleveless shirt after tossing his 17-slot bag aside, the man revealed a handsome light brown toned face, cruelly marked with a long, deep scar, that took the form of a vertical line from hair to jaw, that passed harmlessly over the left of his bright lime green eyes . The mans suspicions grew as he noticed the long bone blond, and short midnight blue hair, that seemed to each share half of the girls head, he also noticed the red insignia of the Asuran church on the golden pin-clip at the nape of her cowl. The man exhaled surveying the lush green hip high grass of the sunbathed river bank. Mind full with questions, and impatient for answers, the Man remorselessly twisted his soaked wet hood-sash above the girls head, drenching her sun-dried face with the cold river water. The Girl sat up abruptly gasping for air, before coughing and spluttering up a small amount of water, that had managed to find its way into her lungs during her little aquatic adventure. The Man raised a scar bisected eyebrow, as the clearly aggravated child glared at him accusingly through a single blood red left eye. "Oh and i suppose you think that was funny?" the Girl said in what the man took to be a haughty manner, before looking around in confusion. The man was surprised and wrong footed by the young Girl's calm reaction, he was expecting panic and distress. She then looked to him again, asking "Where am I? Whom are you?".

"My name is Nimbus." the Man began "You're in the south-central section of the Flan Forest, on he east bank of the Gagazor river, and yes i found that very funny." he explained with a smile. "Now it's my turn to ask the questions." He continued crouching down to her level and pointing a question finger at the Girl. "Who are you? And how did you fall from that cliff back there?" His pointing finger became a thumb as he thrust it over his shoulder, indicating the direction they had been swept from.

"Eh? What cliff?" the girl replied, Nimbus could see the genuine confusion on her face. "The last thing i remember, i was running through the forest with Clara and the Sister. I demand to know where she i-".

The Girls question was cut short, as the man suddenly darted forward pinning her to the ground, the Girl gasped winded, grabbing at the long green grass as the air was thrust from her chest. Just as soon as she had hit the ground, Nimbus' weight was dragged off her as the charging Bog-Wolf tackled the man in her place. Rolling a few meters to the down rivers edge, the two broke apart. Nimbus was on his feet, quickly placing himself between the Girl and the ravenous beast, and what a large beast it was, easily the size of a man on it's hind legs. The Wolf's fur was wide and flat with a mottled dark green and grey Hue, making it perfectly concealed in the lush, grass filled clearings that were dotted throughout the eastern half of the Flan-Forest. The Girl didn't know what was happening, she had gotten to her feet though, she didn't know why or when. Quickly covering her mouth to muffle a cry of shock, her legs buckled and she fell to her knees, staring through tear filled eyes at the deep bloody gashed in Nimbus' right arm.

The Bog-wolf lunged at him again, Nimbus dodged left, countering the beasts failed attack with a left knee to the face. As the Canine stepped back blinking blood out of the right of it's eerily glowing green eyes, Nimbus stooped low right foot first, his left hand crossing his body pulling the Salamand free of its sheath in one fluid motion, and continued though slashing for the beast's throat a he rose, before rolling backwards away from any possible counter from the beats. The air blurred with heat haze as Wolf narrowly avoided the mortal wound, darting left and coming fast at the rolling Nimbus high from his undefended right side, its jaw open wide ready tear at the man's face. Nimbus ducked in low, coming under the brute's jump and rising to catch the beast in mid air from beneath, flipping it onto it's back with a muscle straining thrust. The Wolf yelped as it landed hard, quickly rising and jumping at Nimbus again, it's unexpectedly sharp claws searching out flesh to rend. Nimbus met it head on this time slicing left with the Salamand, severing one of the beast's deadly talons. He took the hit of the other claw, its razor edge biting deep into his shoulder, with a pain deadening grunt, Nimbus thrust his head forwards landing an unorthodox headbutt to the beast's snout that connected cleanly, shattering the nasal canal and cheek bones with an audible crack. The Wolf fell back with a loud whine, falling onto it's side as it was unable to steady itself without its missing limb. As it landed heavily Nimbus stepped forwards hastily ramming the Salamand into the beasts chest up to the hilt. Unlike with the Flan before, this single thrust had the desired effect, impaling the creature's heart, and silencing it eternally.

Nimbus wearily approached the girl to be sure she way okay, the still from of the dead Bog-wolf behind him."Y-you headbutt it... You headbutt the Wolf!" The girl murmured in a trembling voice, her shock-wide eyes refusing to leave the disturbingly still form of the dead Wolf, as if the beast would just stand up at any moment.

"Hay!... Hay!" Nimbus returned with a pointing finger. " Anything goes in the jungle... Anything" he finished,as if his unhonorable actions needed some forgiving justification. Turning nonplussed from the Girl with a dismissive wave of the hand, the man walked away, to go and retrieve the Salamand from Bog-Wolf's corpse. The Girl trembled replaying the fight over and over again in her head, unsure of whether it lasted ten minutes or one, for a second even the thought that there may have been two Wolves crossed her mind, causing her to look around franticly for the second Bog-Wolf. Nimbus turned from wiping the bloody blade on the Wolf's coat and sheathing it once again with a hiss, he stooped and reached in to his 17-slot bag, pulling out a bottle of ice cold water that seemed to the girl larger than the bag itself. He took a swig of the refreshing liquid before throwing the bottle over to the girl, telling her to calm down and drink, then setting about removing the bandage from his right hand, and replacing it around the bloody gash in his arm.

"But what if theres another one?" the girl moaned, fumbling with the cap of the bottle.

"Don't worry theres not, they are rare in the Flan-forest and are known for their individualistic nature." He explained to the girl, while clearly having trouble getting the bandage in place left-handed.

"Shall i help you?" The girl asked looking for an excuse to be near to the man incase of more unexpected danger.

"Please." He replied.

After they had finished fixing him up, he gathered his stuff before stopping and looking up at the sky. "It'll be dark soon" he told her. "The cave I've been staying in is not too far from here, we should go there."

"Okay" she replied still shaking from the ordeal with the Bog-wolf "Clara will be awake soon, and I'll have her fix you up properly." she stated still looking around nervously.

"Who's Clara?" Nimbus asked, clearly confused by the girl's words.

"My right side" she said pointing at her closed right eye as if in explanation.

Nimbus was further confused, letting out a sigh of surrender, deciding he'll leave it for later. "So what's your name?" he asked again, as the Bog-Wolf rudely prevented an answer last time.

"I'm Amare" The girl grinned "pleasure to meet you".


End file.
